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RivalSport F.C.
(as Scorpio FC) | dissolved = | ground = USG Harbourside Stadium | capacity = 19,800 | owner = Ruff Sports & Entertainment, Inc. | chairman = Brian Ruff | manager = Dennis Kind | coach = | currentleague = League A | currentposition = | lastseason = | lastleaguea = League A | lastposition = 3rd | current = | website = | firstgame = | largestwin = | worstdefeat = | topscorer = | fansgroup = | honours = | American = }} RivalSport Football Club Warner Bay, usually referred to as RivalSport Warner Bay or simply RivalSport, is a professional association football club based in Warner Bay, the capital of St. Gregory. The team competes in League A, the top tier in the St. Gregory Football Association. The club was founded in 1999 as Scorpio FC, after the original members chose a scorpion as their club mascot and chose to name the club after the corresponding zodiac sign. They originally played as an amateur club and turned professional in 2007, being placed in League C for the 2007-08 season. On June 19, 2015, Texan businessman Brian Ruff purchased the club and announced the name would be changed to RivalSport F.C., after the RivalSport sportswear company founded and owned by Ruff. Since their takeover, the club has achieved successive promotions to League B and then to League A in consecutive seasons – something no club had done in 21 years – and finished an odds-defying 9th place in their maiden top flight season, establishing themselves as a potential up-and-comer in future years. History In their first competitive match following the re-brand, on September 25, 2015, the team defeated Clifftown Hawks 2-0 at RSE Stadium in the first round of the 2015-16 SGFA Cup. Six days later, on October 2, they opened the 2015-16 League C season with a 2-1 away victory at Old Boys Centre-Ville. Devon Blight scored the first league goal for the club under their new identity. The team went undefeated the first 12 matches of the season before losing 3-2 at home to Armed Forces on January 12, 2016, and scored in each of their first 13 league matches until being held to a 0-0 draw at Carlisle on January 17. RivalSport also reached the third round of the SGFA Cup, the first time in their history they had achieved that feat, with a 3-0 upset over League B side Otway Town on November 15, 2015. They were defeated 2-1 by Bonneville Juniors in the third round on December 13, ending their run. On April 10, 2016, RivalSport defeated Barbarians 3-0, in doing so clinching the League C championship and the first-ever promotion in club history. The following season, the team started out going unbeaten the first five games of the season, winning four of those, before eventually finishing the league in 4th place and earning a berth in the promotion playoffs. There, they defeated Winston Beach 2-1 in the first leg at RSE Stadium and held Beach to a 3-3 draw in the second leg at Rainbow Stadium for a 5-4 aggregate victory and a berth in the final against Little Rouge on May 24. After a 1-1 draw in normal time, RivalSport won 5-4 in a penalty shootout to earn their first-ever promotion to League A and in doing so, become the first team in 21 years to win promotion in back-to-back seasons. On October 27, 2017, RivalSport defeated Starrs County 2-1 at RSE Stadium for their first-ever League A victory. The winning goal was scored by Turhan Ehrlich with 12 minutes remaining in the match. Despite a famous victory over FC Chapman on New Year's Eve, they struggled through the middle of their inaugural League A season before rolling off three straight victories in the month of April; their 4-2 win over Helena Point Rangers on April 21 – which featured former Ranger, Carlo Bennington, starting in goal for RivalSport – assured them of safety and a return to League A in 2018-19. They went on to win five of their last seven games, including a 2-1 win at Manorham on the final day of the season, to finish in 9th, far exceeding preseason expectations for the club. RivalSport moved to Harbourside Stadium for the 2018-19 League A season. As well as maintaining an unbeaten home record, recording 10 wins and 5 draws from their 15 games at Harbourside, the Scorpions entered the final day of the season with a mathematical chance to win the League A title. Despite beating Winston Beach 3-1 on the final day, they would ultimately finish third behind eventual league champions, Helena United, and runners-up, Bonneville United. Bonneville United's victory over New Castle in the 2019 SGFA Cup Final on May 19, 2019, meant that St. Gregory's automatic berth in the 2020 CONCACAF Liga América fell to RivalSport, who will compete in a continental tournament for the first time. Stadium From 2007 to 2018, the team played their home matches at Hopewell Park in Warner Bay, a ground they shared with other amateur and professional clubs; the club's owners, Ruff Sports & Entertainment, held naming rights to RSE Stadium from 2015 to 2018. For the 2018-19 season and beyond, RivalSport will move to the larger Harbourside Stadium, located in the city's downtown. They will groundshare with Calabria and Sparta Antillen, the two other prominent professional clubs in Warner Bay. Club culture and controversy RivalSport's fan base has grown considerably since the success seen on the pitch following the club's purchase by Ruff in 2015. What was once a "group of friends" has been successful in garnering support from all walks of life and identities in Warner Bay. Ruff was quoted in 2017 as saying: "I want us, this club, to become Warner Bay's team; the team that you can cheer for as they rep your home city, no matter what your heritage or creed." The club continues to promote itself as the team that represents the whole of Warner Bay and announced that #PlayForTheBay would be part of their marketing from 2018 onward. After the club's RivalSport re-brand, they became known for their extensive use of pyrotechnics (including flames and/or fireworks when the team takes the field at the beginning of the match, scores a goal or wins) and other forms of entertainment. The song "Party Hard" by Andrew W.K. is played after a goal or a victory. In June 2018, club owner Ruff declared that the squad number 45 would be banned from issue to any player, and would not be available for purchase at the team's soon-to-open in-stadium merchandise store, in protest against President Donald Trump (the 45th President of the United States); namely, against his administration's family separation policy. Ruff, a noted liberal, said that he and the RivalSport family of companies would assist children separated from their parents in whatever way they could. RivalSport fans – who, like most supporters in Gregorian football, are mostly apolitical – were largely unmoved by the decision and it received little press coverage. Rivalries :Main article: Warner Bay derby In the club's early days in League C, their main rival was Barbarians, with whom they groundshared Hopewell Park. Following RivalSport's successive promotions in 2016 and 2017, they lack an established rival either through history or proximity. However, in 2018, Calabria were promoted to League A to mark the first season in history in which St. Gregory's top flight will be represented by two clubs from the capital city. Calabria and RivalSport make up two-thirds of the Warner Bay derby (along with Sparta Antillen, whom RivalSport have only faced twice in league play – winning both contests in 2016-17 by 1-0 scorelines). Colors, crest and nickname From the club's foundation in 1999 until 2015, the team played in black and red kits, usually striped although the kits were predominantly black between 2013 and 2015. Upon the sale of the club to RSE, the club colors changed slightly, to scarlet and gray, after new owner Brian Ruff's alma mater, Ohio State University. A black and scarlet striped third kit was introduced for the team's first season under the new ownership, 2015-16, to pay homage to the original identity. The team is nicknamed The Scorpions, after their original club name, Scorpio FC. The nickname was retained despite the name of the club changing. The crest, redesigned in 2015, features a modernized scorpion, as well as a five-pointed star to represent the state of Texas, where the club ownership is based. Kits The team's uniforms are supplied by RS Teamwear, who took over as part of the sale of the club in 2015. The shirt sponsor as of 2019 is Landry's, Inc.. On June 7, 2017, the club unveiled a new home, away and third kit for the 2017-18 season, the team's first in League A. The new bespoke design, called Scorpio after the club's former name, features a scarlet and gray home kit, with an away kit in white and "Luv Ya" blue, an homage to owner Brian Ruff's hometown of Houston. For 2019-20, the team returned to scarlet and black striped shirts, recalling the club's beginnings as Scorpio FC in honor of its 20 years since establishment. Players Current squad : As of August 16, 2019 Note: Players without a flag are from St. Gregory. Players with an asterisk (*) are from outside the United States or its territories, or have represented a non-U.S. territory at international level, but hold either citizenship or permanent residency in the U.S. and thus do not count towards the league cap on foreign players. Out on loan Former players :Further information: Category:RivalSport F.C. players Retired and reserved numbers * 45 – Banned from issue by the club owner Brian Ruff in protest of the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump (see above). Management and support staff Managerial history :Further information: Category:RivalSport F.C. managers Women's team :Main article: Warner Bay Scarlets W.F.C. In December 2015, Ruff Sports & Entertainment announced they would also be fielding a team in the inaugural Women's League A season, beginning in 2016. The club, called Warner Bay Scarlets W.F.C. after the team colors they share with RivalSport, will also play home games at RSE Stadium. Honors * League B :*'Playoff winners (1)': 2016-17 * League C :*'Champions (1)': 2015-16 Category:Club pages Category:RivalSport F.C.